My first thought, as I fingered through the Major Arcana cards of Liber T,
was, "What's the point?" While I have always been a fan of Serio's artwork (he
created the strikingly unique Dante Tarot), these cards
are a surrealistic and considerably less detailed version of Lady Frieda
Harris' Thoth trumps. As far as I am concerned, you have to go a long way to
beat the magnificence and power of those cards--and Serio hasn't done that.
(I am not sure anyone could.)

So the Majors seemed a rather wasteful use of Serio's talent, and the Court
Cards, being identical in composition, though simplified and surrealized (new
word!), continued on that theme. However, the subtitle of the deck (Tarot of
Stars Eternal) hints to the impetus behind this deck; the revisions to the
Minors are based on the Decans, also known as the 36 Symbolic Constellations of
the Egyptian Star Cult, the SIBU SEPESU (Eternal Stars). Negrini's sources of
inspiration include Liber Hermetis of the Corpus Hermeticum,
Indian (Vedic) astrology, Picatrix, and the writings of Agrippa and
Bruno. The deck is intended for ritual use, based on the spread/ritual provided
in the Little White Booklet (LWB).

If one ignores the profligate redundancy of the artwork, the Majors are
certainly eye-catching, if not as ominous and powerful as their Thoth
counterparts. The Fool's silly face makes him look like a creature of manga and
the Magician's pose would make him an ideal candidate as the
sixth man in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ("That athame has to go.").

While I do admire Serio's artwork in general, certain cards really miss the
grace and power of Harris' originals. In the Empress, the elegant swan has
transmogrified into a Warner Brothers cartoon character and the Chariot rider
has gone from a strength born of muscularity into someone in need of a few
visits to Gold's Gym. On the other hand, The Hermit is even more
mysterious than the Thoth original--he (or she) is unidentifiable as a human
except for the tell-tale hand that holds the lantern--and even that could belong
to an alien. Disappointingly, instead of the Cerberus at the bottom of the card, we
have a three-headed dragon. I find the dragon much less fearsome.

The spirituality of the Hanged Man has been removed--the open maw in the
middle of his face makes him resemble a crying baby. The message of Death,
however, is particularly effective--the stripped down style is just right for
this particular card. I also like think the central image in the Universe card
(at top) comes off well under Serio's hand--I can feel the rhythm of the dance--but, the
corner animals with their flattened faces deflect from her power. The one in the
right hand upper corner especially looks like a pumpkin or an orange South Park
character.

The Minors, with their additional scenes, characters, and referents, hew to the
original images. The Ace of Cups is psychedelicized and the vessel has "Babalon"
stenciled upon it. I'm sure the Lady of the Night is delighted to have a
monogrammed mug to call her own. Frieda Harris follows Crowley's color scheme
assignments (based on the Golden Dawn magical attributions) conscientiously, but
the Liber T artist has taken some liberties. The Thoth Seven of Cups has a
coloration that emits a rank odor, but not so the
Liber T version. A large red whipping post sits in the upper portion of the
card and even the Moon, holding a sword, cries for the flogged man and the woman
at the stake (or perhaps the floggers and the scourgers). This image is simply
too busy for Debauch, which I have always associated with a kind of world-weary
shiftlessness. In the Liber T deck, it has been renamed "Corruption," and the
associated terms are "Delirious mysticism, self-destructive behavior, coercive
fanaticism and consequent imaginary success." I think this specificity detracts
from the card, and is quite a shift
from Crowley's simple
sinking into the mire of false pleasure.

The Liber T Six of Swords is also quite different in terms of coloration from
the Thoth, which reflects the intellectual sphere with its cool and distant
hues. The Liber T moves us from a snowy day to a night sky, and speaks of the
wish for knowledge in the little white book (LWB). The theme of the card is the
same but the timing is different--the Liber T is on the verge of rising to the
heights of knowledge; in Thoth, the card speaks of the pinnacle of intellectual
success (and its inherent temporal status).

Like the Thoth, the Liber T 10 of Spheres
(Disks in Thoth) depicts a a model of the Tree of Life. Again, the coloration is
quite different, and it is imposed upon a globe of the world. A figure stands at
the top, as if the world is his boardroom. I find the image thought-provoking,
but not lacking in hubris--which may well be the artist's intent.

While the Minors are often the same as the Thoth/Golden Dawn keywords, they
do differ somewhat. They are as follows:

Card

Thoth/Golden Dawn Keyword(s)

Liber T Keyword(s)

Ace of Wands/Scepters

Root of the Power of Fire

Root of the Power of Fire

Two of Wands/Scepters

Dominion

Rule

Three of Wands/Scepters

Established Strength

Virtue

Four of Wands/Scepters

Perfected Work

Completion

Five of Wands/Scepters

Strife

Beginning of the Struggle

Six of Wands/Scepters

Victory

Will for Victory

Seven of Wands/Scepters

Valour

Excess

Eight of Wands/Scepters

Swiftness

Dynamization

Nine of Wands/Scepters

Great Strength

Vigor

Ten of Wands/Scepters

Oppression

Oppression

Ace of Cups

Root of the Power of Water

Root of the Power of Water

Two of Cups

Love

Love

Three of Cups

Abundance

Abundance

Four of Cups

Blended Pleasure

Passive Lust

Five of Cups

Loss in Pleasure

Dissatisfaction

Six of Cups

Pleasure

Realized Pleasure

Seven of Cups

Illusionary Success

Corruption

Eight of Cups

Abandoned Success

Inertia

Nine of Cups

Material Happiness

Joy

Ten of Cups

Perfected Success

Satiety

Ace of Swords

Root of the Power of Air

Root of the Power of Air

Two of Swords

Peace Restored

Restored Peace

Three of Swords

Sorrow

Disruption

Four of Swords

Rest From Strife

Truce

Five of Swords

Defeat

Fear of Defeat

Six of Swords

Earned Success

Wish for Knowledge

Seven of Swords

Unstable Effort

Weakness

Eight of Swords

Shortened Force

Influencing

Nine of Swords

Despair and Cruelty

Violence

Ten of Swords

Ruin

Revolution

Ace of Disks/Spheres

Root of the Power of Earth

Root of the Power of Earth

Two of Disks/Spheres

Harmonious Change

Change

Three of Disks/Spheres

Material Works

Construction

Four of Disks/Spheres

Earthly Power

Power

Five of Disks/Spheres

Material Trouble

Effort

Six of Disks/Spheres

Material Success

Balanced Success

Seven of Disks/Spheres

Success Unfulfilled

Restriction

Eight of Disks/Spheres

Prudence

Concealment

Nine of Disks/Spheres

Material Gain

Collection

Ten of Disks/Spheres

Wealth

Overabundance

The Court Cards are, for me, particularly disappointing when compared with
Harris' magnificent originals.
While the red/orange colors explode into flame on the bottom of the Prince of
Scepters, the night sky filled with astrological glyphs seems wrong for this
overt, yang character whose firepower would light up the sky, not be in contrast
to it. The wise face seized by the Thoth Queen of Sword becomes a really weird
dishrag in the Liber T version--at first glance, I thought it was a fish!

As one would expect from Lo Scarabeo, the quality of cardstock and production
is excellent. The card backs are not
reversible, but depict the Justice card in gradients of dark blue. The LWB
offers some background on the deck and the author's influences, as well as
"Names and Mantic Meanings of the 78 Lames of the Liber T." These 22
philosophical maxims can be profound (The Fool: "All roads permit innocence. Do
not be man or woman but rather both in One.") or cryptic (The High Priestess:
"Penetrate through or be reflected by the Veil of the Virgin. Celebrate the
Union of Pan with Artemis!"). "The 16 Court Honor Cards" are next, with keywords
as well as their elemental makeup (the Queen of Swords is "Aqueous Air"). The
Four Aces are next, and then very brief keywords are provided for "The 36 Decans
of Thoth" (better known to some as the Minor Arcana). Decans is an astrological
term, and in this case, are the planet/sign attributions as well as the cards
themselves. Lastly, the author includes "The Oracle of the 8 Obelisks of Thoth"--a
ritual/spread that involves candle lighting and whispering. Parchment or vellum
is also suggested, but my spread cloth worked just fine.

The Majors include the title of the card, in addition to the planet or
element assigned to the card, as well as the associated Hebrew letter, like the
Thoth. Because of the astrological information contained on this deck, it is
ideal to use in conjunction with Liz Hazel's Tarot
Decoded.

I remember a discussion on Tarot-l that explored the fact that, though Thoth
is a seminal deck in the same tier as the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS), there are far
fewer clones/variants of the Thoth. Some that were discussed (but not
universally agreed upon) include the Deva,
the Magickal, and the Love is in
the Earth Crystal Tarot (shudder, shudder). I think no one would dispute
that Liber T belongs on this list.

I recommend this deck to Crowley/Thoth enthusiasts, as well as those who
appreciate surrealistic art.